


Familiar (or, Five Times Hyejeong Made Mina Feel Safe)

by bitsori



Category: AOA | Ace of Angels
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comfort, F/F, Friendship, Possibly Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 08:23:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15882255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: Mina tends to keep her problems to herself, except when Hyejeong is there; canon!fic





	Familiar (or, Five Times Hyejeong Made Mina Feel Safe)

**Author's Note:**

> I've wanted to write this one for ages but the words never came until now. I love AOA and AOA '93 so much and I really never could resist a good pair of best friends. This has been undeniably inspired by things like [this](http://yunaring.tumblr.com/post/144838122147/chanmi-i-didnt-know-they-got-close-like-that) and [this](http://yunaring.tumblr.com/post/174786536417/what-were-you-up-to-during-aoas-break).

Mina wakes up in the middle of the night a sweaty mess, her chest heaving but unable to move everything else. Her room feels so small, and everything - from the glow in the dark stars stuck on her ceiling, to her furniture that’s illuminated only by the moonlight shining through the window - feels like they’re spinning and melding together. She closes her eyes again and tries to slowly count backwards starting from one hundred as an attempt to calm her breathing. At the back of her mind, a small voice wonder if it’s lucky or not that this has happened all too often now that she knows what she needs to do.

It takes her several minutes before she feels relaxed enough to open here eyes again. Another bad dream that felt all too real, followed by inevitable, momentary sleep paralysis she experiences.  She lifts her hand to her chest, massaging the area above her heart before Mina manages to sit up and slide out of her bed.

She’s lucky it only takes a few quiet steps to cross the hall from her bedroom to her best friend’s.

 

 

···

  


**2010 •**

 

Mina wants to cry but she also wants _not_ to cry. She wants this, this is her choice so she knows that she should lift her chin and simply accept the pain.

Still, as she stares at her hands, fingertips bleeding from hours of plucking at thick bass strings, words from her instructor ring through her head. _Are you even trying? That’s no good! Again! Do it again! Not like that! Maybe you should just quit if you can’t do this!_

Each statement strikes harder than the last, and every time the back of her eyes start to sting from tears that Mina works hard to keep at bay. She’s not even eighteen and she’s already starting to hate herself; she thinks maybe there are other things she can do with her life. Earlier that week Jimin had cornered her, asking her what was wrong and was there any way that Jimin can help. Mina knows she meant well - Jimin _always_ means well. Jimin’s been a trainee far longer than she has been, so she would probably say all the right things if Mina just lets her, but Mina also knows that the older girl has her own share of problems and insecurities that Mina just smiles through gritted teeth as she shakes her head. She can’t burden anyone else with her issues. It’s not anyone else’s fault that she’s bad at singing - not anyone else’s fault that her lack of flexibility holds her back from doing harder hitting choreography.

The bass guitar is the chance that the company has given her to actually excel in something so now it’s her turn not to disappoint them. This is something only she can have, so she has to work hard without complaining - this is what Mina repeatedly tells herself even as she applies bandaids on each of her fingers.

_Jesus, Kwon Mina_ , _stop pitying yourself,_ she mumbles quietly as she furiously wipes her damp cheek with the back of her hand. Despite her mental pep talk, the tears keep coming and she thinks it’s lucky that she’s got the practice room to herself--

Or not, because apparently she can’t even have that.

She looks up as the door creaks open and Hyejeong - tall, beautiful Hyejeong - enters. The same-aged girl looks surprised to find her there, but before she can say anything, Mina beats her to it.

“Go away!” Mina snaps, curling into an even smaller ball at the far corner of the practice room. “I want to be alone!”

Even through her blurry vision, she can tell that Hyejeong looks surprised by her sudden outburst. She’s being such a brat, Mina knows, and if her older sister can see her now she’d probably be told off. But that’s the point - she was alone, and she _wants_ to be alone with her misery.

And then Hyejeong’s expression soften, and for a brief moment Mina thinks that the other girl actually wants to _laugh_. She opens her mouth to snap again, but only a quiet sob comes out. The tears are falling again, and all Mina can do now is turn away so that Hyejeong won’t see.

“Okay,” she hears Hyejeong say in a soft, yet matter-of-fact tone. “You be alone over there, and I’ll be alone over here.”

Mina refuses to look at first, but she hears soft rustling from across the room. When she musters enough energy and courage to sneak a glance, she sees that Hyejeong has sat down on the ratty old couch that was there, quietly writing in what she knows is Hyejeong’s trainee diary. For some reason, Mina is grateful for this - Hyejeong’s presence is familiar enough to be comfortable, but she’s far away and silent enough not to be imposing.

And so, in her little corner, Mina gathers her knees close to her chest, and she cries her eyes out until her eyes are dry and she just feels tired. And when she stops, that’s when she hears shifting movement and the next thing she knows is that Hyejeong is lowering herself to sit on the floor next to her, handkerchief silently held out.

Mina wants to say _thank you_ , but in that moment it feels like her voice, along with most of her energy, has left her. Her head feels heavy as well, and as she takes the handkerchief, she allows her head to rest on Hyejeong’s shoulder. Once again, the other girl doesn’t say anything, and Mina can only hope that her gratefulness reaches her.

  
  
  


**2012 •**

 

Their debut is here. _Finally._ Years of training have finally paid off and in sixteen more hours, Mina will officially graduate from being a trainee and start being an _idol_ . A _celebrity_. Of course, probably nothing is going to change immediately - she will still be a nobody to the general public, and all eight of them can only hope for the moment that everything will go well and their song will be loved.

Still, it’s the night before their showcase and Mina’s hands are shaking from nerves and excitement. She keeps tossing in turning in her bed that she eventually gets thrown out by Choa who insists that she needs her beauty sleep. In the bunk across hers is Seolhyun’s, and for a brief second Mina considers crawling into bed with the younger girl. But their last roommate is nowhere to be found and that’s what prompts Mina to exit their bedroom.

Sure enough she finds outside, perched on a tiny window seat, looking out the window of their tiny living room.

“The view from there isn’t exactly spectacular,” she comments as she squeezes herself in across her friend. Hyejeong just laughs and holds her hands out for Mina, as if she already knows what Mina needs - and Mina thinks, she probably does.

She easily reaches with both of her own hands, squeezing Hyejeong’s. It actually helps her release some of her anxiety, and soon the two of them are just grinning at each other, only left with the excitement they know is to come the following day.

“I feel like I’m going to puke,” she says suddenly. And she really does, but she’s also laughing because with Hyejeong, everything feels like it’s going to work out fine.

“Ew, Mina, yah!” Hyejeong laughs along, and slaps the back of Mina’s hands. “Make sure not to do it _on_ me!”

  
  
  
  


**2014 •**

 

This time, she really wants to cry. She _needs_ to cry, but the tears aren’t coming. Mina thinks - _is this what it feels like to be in shock_? Except it shouldn’t even be that shocking - her entire family had known this was coming, had known for several months now.

The news comes early in the morning, while Mina is on the road. She’s on the way to film her drama, and between that and comeback preparation, the last time she’s been able to visit her father was a week ago. Her sister had been keeping her up to date though - _Dad’s doing better, work hard!_

Except it turns out those were lies.

She stares at her phone - maybe she should call her mother? She knows her mother needs her and her sister both, but she doesn’t really know how to express comfort over the phone. Instead, she robotically types a text message. _I’m on my way back to Seoul_ , it reads. No emojis - those feel tacky, given the situation - but nothing else that would register emotion if read.

Mina looks out the window - now they’re stuck in traffic, and the manager hasn’t even made the turn to head back to Seoul. She’s screaming profanities in her head - very unlike her, really, but she doesn’t know what else to do. She closes her eyes, willing the tears to come, because maybe that will help make her feel better. Except her eyes are dry and everything just hurts.

And then the sharp tinny version of _Fantasy_ starts playing as her phone begins to vibrate in her hand. She almost drops it but Hyejeong’s name flashes across the screen, and she manages to slide her thumb across the ‘accept’ button before the ringing ends on it’s own.

“Hello?” Her voice is shakier than she imagined it would be, and she catches their manager giving her a worried look through through the rearview mirror. “Hello,” she repeats, trying to sound steadier but not really succeeding.

“Mina-yah,” her best friend begins, and apparently that’s all she needed because suddenly the tears are falling non-stop, uncontrollably. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Hyejeong continues, and then, like she’s prone to doing, she remains quiet until Mina’s tears have stopped and the only thing that’s left is comforting silence being carried through even across phone lines.

  
  
  


**2016 •**

 

“You’re thinking too loud again,” Hyejeong’s voice reaches her from across the room, causing Mina to turn and face her direction. She’d assumed Hyejeong was already asleep as the other woman was already nicely snuggled and hidden underneath her blanket.

“Sorry,” Mina mumbles. “Too many things are going on right now.”

She tries to will her thoughts into silence. She and Hyejeong have been together for so long, that she knows even when she doesn’t say anything, Hyejeong can easily read her like an open book - Mina’s more or  less able to do the same for her.

Try as Mina might, though, it’s too late because Hyejeong is surfacing from under the covers and sitting up. Mina glances at her and stifles laughter - Hyejeong’s hair is sticking out everywhere, making her look like she has some kind of lion’s mane.

“You look funny,” Mina comments as she sits up as well.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” is how Hyejeong answers her, ignoring the teasing retort and simply running her fingers through her hair in attempt to tame it.

She doesn’t really have to ask though, not really, because they both know what’s wrong. Choa is set to make her leaving announcement the day after, and nothing either of them, or anyone else - not the other members, nor the management, can change anything about it.

“Jimin-unnie is so stressed,” Mina whispers; she wishes she can do something for the older woman, something more than offering hugs and and a shoulder to rest or cry on. Their leader had tried so hard to convince their main vocalist to stay - even though Jimin keeps downplaying it, keeps saying that there’s nothing she could do, Mina and Hyejeong both know that she tried her very best to change Choa’s mind until the very end.

“I know,” Hyejeong nods, quietly agreeing while she plays with the hem of her blanket.

“I don’t know what to say to Choa-unnie,” Mina adds, and once again Hyejeong only agrees. It hurts to be left behind like this - it feels even worse than when Youkyoung had made _her_ decision, but at the same time, she knows it’s selfish to hold them back. She worries, too - for Choa’s health, for Jimin’s peace of mind, and of course for the group’s now, more than ever, unstable future.

“Me neither.” Hyejeong sighs and then she gets out of bed so she can cross the distance and sit next to Mina on hers. “Hey,” Hyejeong continues, smiling and nudging Mina’s side playfully. “Do you want to live together even after we move out of here?”

Mina turns her head to look at her friend, unable to keep the wide smile that forms on her lips. “You serious?” She asks, playfully bumping her head against Hyejeong’s shoulder.

Hyejeong links her arms around Mina, and reaches down to tangle their fingers together. “It’d be nice to keep some things the same, right?” She asks, and Mina allows herself to melt into her best friend’s side. So many things are going wrong, but at least it’s clear that she will always have something constant to count on.

 

  
···

  


“Hyejeongie?” Mina whispers as she pushes the door slightly open.

She hears the rustling of sheets, and she takes that as invitation to come in and walk over towards the bed. “Hyejeong?” She repeats, leaning down to check if her best friend really is awake. There’s no answer except for the shifting of the bed as Hyejeong scoots over to the far side, pressing against the wall because it’s really only a small single bed.

“Bad dream again?” Hyejeong asks, and Mina’s only answer is to slide in next to her, straight into Hyejeong’s waiting arms.

“Mhm,” she mumbles, snuggling even closer once they’re both under the covers. “But it’s all good now.”

 

 

 

 

 

_fin._


End file.
